DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball team (17-15 overall, 6-1 GLIAC) is ready to get back to league play and will travel to Saginaw Valley State (19-11 overall, 4-4 GLIAC) for a four-game series on Friday through Sunday.  Friday's first pitch is set for 3 p.m., Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's finale is scheduled for a noon start.

What have you done for me lately?
While winning seven of the last eight games, Wayne State has been producing both at the plate and on the mound.  In that stretch, the Warriors are hitting .345 (91-for-264) with a team ERA of 3.04.

Caleb Sanders (Eastpointe, Mich. / Detroit Edison Public School Academy [Dayton]) has had the hot hands at the dish with a .522 average in that span, but is one of five players above or flirting with a .400 clip.  The other four are Reagan Paulina (Highland, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central [Oakland]) at .455, Jacoby Dale (Roseville, Mich. [Spring Arbor/Henry Ford CC]) at .394, Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) at .391, and Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) at .357.

On the bump, Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota) was far and away WSU's most effective pitcher in that time period.  DeMasse turned in a 1.88 ERA in 14 and one-third innings pitched.  Other arms of note were Braylon Laroo (Canton, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) with a 2.26 ERA in eight frames, Nick Baker (Brighton, Mich. [Lansing CC]) with a 1.23 ERA in 7.1 IP, and Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) with five scoreless frames.

Scouting Saginaw Valley State
Saginaw Valley State is coached by third-year leader and the 2024 GLIAC Coach of the Year, Adam Piotrowicz.  Piotrowicz owns an overall record of 87-53 (.621 winning percentage) in two-plus seasons, including a conference mark of 44-24 (.647).  The Cardinals are coming off their first GLIAC Regular Season Championship in 22 years before eventually falling to Indianapolis in the NCAA Midwest Super Regional, two games to none.

So far this season, SVSU is hitting .305 as a team with a 5.04 ERA, both of which rank third in the GLIAC.  Starting at the plate individually, Lucas Mead has been one of the best players in the league.  Mead is hitting .472 (50-for-106, second in conference) with 26 runs, eight doubles, three triples, four home runs, 28 RBI, 23 walks, six hit-by-pitches, and five stolen bases.

Mead is one of Saginaw Valley State's six everyday players (at least 40 at-bats) hitting above .300.  The other five are Ethan Scheib (.333, 23-for-69), Grant Richardson (.326, 14-for-43), Buck Snabes (.323, 32-for-99), Austin Cicerone (.321, 36-for-112), and Ryan Jarvis (.313, 35-for-112).  Cicerone is on top of the squad's runs category (28), Jarvis has racked up nine doubles with 23 bases on balls, and Scheib has churned out 13 swiped bags.

Switching gears to pitching, two arms have steered the ship for the Cardinals.  They are Jack Decker (2.00 ERA, 45 IP) and JJ Arbini (1.42 ERA, 38 IP).  Not only does Decker lead the team in frames worked, but also strikeouts (49) with just 12 walks, and he's been the winning pitcher for all seven of his starts, two of which he went the distance.  Arbini has thrown one complete game in his own right with a 5-1 record, 36 punchouts and 14 free passes.

Last Time Out:  21-6 Win at Findlay
Wayne State notched one run in the first, three in the third, three in the fourth, three in the sixth, and 11 in the seventh.  The Warriors racked up a season-high 13 walks, their most in over six years since 16 at Lake Erie on April 2, 2019.

At the top of the WSU lineup, Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) didn't record a hit, but walked three times, nearly as many as Findlay's five.  Hill was one of three Warriors with multiple bases on balls along with Caleb Sanders (Eastpointe, Mich. / Detroit Edison Public School Academy [Dayton]) and Noah Murciano (Richmond Hill, Ont. / Bill Crothers S.S. [Sussex County C.C. / Coppin State]).

Run production wise, Reagan Paulina (Highland, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central [Oakland]) and Sanders each turned in big days.  Paulina went 3-for-4 with one run scored, six RBI, one double, and a sacrifice fly.  In his own right, Sanders was 2-for-3 with four runs, five RBI, two walks, and a sacrifice hit.  Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich.) also notched a trio of RBI and Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) drove in a pair.

On the mound, Miles Jamieson (Grosse Pointe, Mich. / Grosse Pointe South [Mid Michigan / Davidson]) made his first start as a Warrior with two innings pitched, one hit allowed and two walks.

First out of the bullpen, Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) garnered his first pitching victory in the Green & Gold with four shutout frames.  Pulford-Thorpe gave up three hits with one free pass and five punchouts.

Then came Coy Plummer (New Hudson, Mich. / South Lyon) who secured the longest scoreless outing of his career, two innings.  Plummer surrendered just two hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Wayne State's fourth and final pitcher of the day, Oscar Pace (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland) pitched the ninth for his third appearance of the season.